In New Zealand, an electorate is a voting district for Parliamentary elections. They are sometimes informally called seats. Historically, all Members of Parliament were directly chosen for office by the voters of an electorate. Today, under the MMP electoral system, around half the seats in Parliament are filled by electorate races, with the remainder being filled from party lists according to proportional representation. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system where some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ... Party lists are used in elections to legislatures which use Party-list proportional representation or additional member proportional representation to designate a partys nominees in the at-large portion of the vote. ... Proportional representation (PR) is an election system which ensures a proportionally representative result of a democratic election, x% of votes should be represented by x% in the democratic institutions, parliament or congress. ...

Distribution

Originally, electorates were drawn up based on political and social links, with little consideration for differences in population. Each electorate was allocated a different number of MPs (up to three) in order to balance population differences, but this was only partly successful. Eventually, a new system was introduced — each electorate would elect one MP, and would boundaries would be drawn based on population. However, a special country quota meant that rural seats were allowed to contain fewer people than urban seats, preserving an inequality (and over-representing farmers). The quota persisted until 1945. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Today, electorate boundaries are determined by the Representation Commission. The Commission consists of:

• Four government officials — the Government Statistician, the Surveyor-General, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.
• A representative of the governing party or coalition, and a represenative of the opposition block.
• A chairperson (often a judge) nominated by the other members, with the exception of Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.

Boundaries are reviewed after each New Zealand Census, which occurs every five years. The South Island is guaranteed at least sixteen seats, with the remainder of voters (North Island and Maori) being divided into electorates of the same population as the South Island ones. The New Zealand government Department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. ... South Island The South Island forms one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ... The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ...

Special electorates

Over the years, there have been two types of "special" electorates created for a particular community. The first were special goldminers' electorates, created for the benefit of participants in the Otago Goldrush — goldminers did not usually meet the residency and property requirements in the electorate they were currently prospecting in, but were numerous enough to want political representation. These electorates, of which only two were created, did not last long. Much more durable have been the Maori electorates, created to give separate representation to Maori citizens. Although originally intended to be temporary, they came to function as reserved positions for Maori, ensuring that there would always be a Maori voice in Parliament. The Central Otago Goldrush (often simply called the Otago goldrush) occurred during the 1860s in Otago, New Zealand. ... After the establishment of Westminster-style Parliamentary Government in New Zealand in 1852, the Māori inhabitants had allotted to them from 1867 specific seats in the New Zealand Parliament. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... Several politico-constitutional arrangements use reserved political positions, especially when endeavoring to ensure the rights of minorities or preserving a political balance of power. ...

List of electorates

General electorates

• Albany
• Akaroa
• Aoraki
• Arch Hill
• Ashburton
• Ashley
• Auckland
• Auckland East
• Auckland North
• Auckland Suburbs
• Auckland West
• Avon
• Awarua
• Banks Peninsula
• Bay of Islands
• Bay of Plenty
• Birkenhead
• Brooklyn
• Bruce
• Buller
• Caversham
• Chalmers
• Cheviot
• Christchurch
• Christchurch Central
• Christchurch Country
• Christchurch East
• Christchurch North
• Christchurch South
• Christchurch West
• Clevedon
• Clive
• Clutha
• Clutha-Southland
• Coleridge
• Collingwood
• Coromandel
• Courtenay
• Dunedin
• Dunedin Central
• Dunedin Country
• Dunedin East
• Dunedin North
• Dunedin and Suburbs North
• Dunedin and Suburbs South
• Dunedin South
• Dunedin Suburbs
• Dunedin West
• Dunstan
• East Cape
• East Coast
• East Coast Bays
• Eden
• Egmont
• Ellesmere
• Epsom
• Fendalton
• Foxton
• Franklin
• Franklin North
• Franklin South
• Geraldine
• Gisborne
• Glenfield
• Gladstone
• Grey
• Grey and Bell
• Grey Lynn
• Greymouth
• Grey Valley
• Halswell
• Hamilton
• Hamilton East
• Hamilton West
• Hampden
• Hastings
• Hauraki
• Hawera
• Hawke
• Hawkes Bay
• Heathcote
• Helensville
• Henderson
• Heretaunga
• Hobson
• Hokitika
• Hokonui
• Horowhenua
• Hunua
• Hurunui
• Hutt
• Hutt, Eastern
• Hutt South
• Hutt, Western
• Ilam
• Inangahua
• Invercargill
• Island Bay
• Kaiapoi
• Kaikoura
• Kaimai
• Kaipara
• Kapiti
• Karori
• King Country
• Kumura
• Lincoln
• Linwood
• Lyttelton
• Mana
• Manawatu
• Mangere
• Manuherikia
• Manukau
• Manukau East
• Manurewa
• Maramarua
• Marlborough
• Marsden
• Masterton
• Matamata
• Mataura
• Maungakiekie
• Mid-Canterbury
• Miramar
• Moeraki
• Mongonui
• Mongonui and Bay of Islands
• Mornington
• Motueka
• Motueka and Massacre Bay
• Mount Albert
• Mount Herbert
• Mount Ida
• Mount Roskill
• Mount Victoria
• Napier
• Nelson
• Nelson, Suburbs of
• New Lynn
• New Plymouth
• Newton
• Newtown
• North Shore
• Northcote
• Northern Division
• Northland
• Oamaru
• Ohariu
• Ohariu-Belmont
• Ohinemuri
• Omata
• Onehunga
• Onslow
• Oroua
• Otago
• Otago Central
• Otahuhu
• Otaki
• Otara
• Pahiatua
• Pakuranga
• Palmerston
• Palmerston North
• Panmure
• Papakura
• Papanui
• Papatoetoe
• Pareora
• Parnell
• Patea
• Pencarrow
• Peninsula
• Pensioner Settlements
• Petone
• Piako
• Picton
• Ponsonby
• Port Chalmers
• Port Waikato
• Raglan
• Rakaia
• Rangiora
• Rangiriri
• Rangitata
• Rangitikei
• Remuera
• Riccarton
• Rimutaka
• Riverton
• Rodney
• Rongotai
• Roskill
• Roslyn
• Rotorua
• Ruahine
• St Albans
• St Kilda
• Selwyn
• South Canterbury
• Southern Division
• Stanmore
• Stratford
• Sydenham
• Taieri
• Tamaki
• Taranaki
• Taranaki-King Country
• Tarawera
• Tasman
• Taumaranui
• Taupo
• Tauranga
• Te Aro
• Te Aroha
• Te Atatu
• Temuka
• Thames
• Thorndon
• Timaru
• Tongariro
• Totara
• Tuapeka
• Tukituki
• Waiapu
• Waihemo
• Waikaia
• Waikaremoana
• Waikato
• Waikouaiti
• Waimakariri
• Waimarino
• Waimate
• Waimea
• Waimea-Picton
• Waimea Sounds
• Waipa
• Waipawa
• Wairarapa
• Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay
• Wairarapa North
• Wairarapa South
• Wairau
• Waitakere
• Waitaki
• Waitemata
• Waitomo
• Waitotara
• Wakanui
• Wakatipu
• Wallace
• Wanganui and Rangitikei
• Wanganui
• Wellington
• Wellington Central
• Wellington Country
• Wellington East
• Wellington North
• Wellington South
• Wellington South and Suburbs
• Wellington Suburbs and Country
• Wellington West
• West Auckland
• West Coast
• West Coast-Tasman
• Western Hutt
• Westland
• Westland Buroughs
• Westland North
• Westland South
• Whanganui
• Whangarei
• Wigram
• Woodville
• Yaldhurst

Maori electorates

• Eastern Maori
• Hauraki
• Ikaroa-Rawhiti
• Northern Maori
• Southern Maori
• Tainui
• Tamaki Makaurau
• Te Puku O Te Whenua
• Te Tai Hauauru
• Te Tai Rawhiti
• Te Tai Tonga
• Waiariki
• Western Maori

Goldminers' electorates

• Goldfields
• Goldfields Towns